function [congressnum,icpsr,statecode,district,statename,partycode,meansoffice,name,votes]=read_data(filename)
fid=fopen(filename);
cnt=1;
    while 1
    tline = fgetl(fid);
    if ~ischar(tline),   break,   end
    congressnum(cnt,:)=str2num(tline(1:3));
    icpsr(cnt,:)=str2num(tline(4:8));
    statecode(cnt,:)=str2num(tline(9:10));
    district(cnt,:)=str2num(tline(11:12));
    statename{cnt}=tline(13:20);
    partycode(cnt,:)=str2num(tline(21:23));
    meansoffice{cnt}=str2num(tline(24:25));
    name{cnt}=tline(26:36);
    for i=1:(numel(tline)-36)
        votes(cnt,i)=str2num(tline(36+i));
    end
    cnt=cnt+1;
    end
    votes=convert_votes(votes);
    
    